Most recent 18-win month for all teams

This is some research I did for an aborted column I originally intended to go up tommorrow. (I’ll have a column up, just not the one I originally expected).

Why would someone want to look up the most recent 18-win month for all 30 franchises? Well, I think you’ll figure it out when you see the gap between last and next-to-last. (Note: March and October games are lumped with April and September respectively). Here they are, grouped in five to make it easier to follow:

8/2009 STL
8/2009 NYY
7/2009 CHC
7/2009 LAA
7/2009 PHI

6/2009 TBR
6/2009 BOX
6/2009 COL
5/2009 LAD
5/2009 TEX

5/2009 MIL
5/2009 NYM
9/2008 KCR
8/2008 HOU
8/2008 CLE

6/2008 DET
5/2008 TOR
4/2008 ARI
8/2007 SDP
6/2007 SEA

9/2006 MIN
8/2006 OAK
6/2006 FLA
6/2006 CWS
5/2006 ATL

6/2005 DCN
9/2004 BAL
6/2004 SFG
5/2004 CIN
9/1992 PIT

So, the Reds, with the second longest on-going streak, are working on their 34th straight complete month of baseball with 17 or fewer wins, but the Pirates are in the midst of their 99th month. Ooph!

The Pirates have five different 17-win months: 17-10 in June 1994, 17-10 in Sept/Oct 1996, 17-12 in May 1999, 17-10 in July 2004, and 17-13 in August 2007. Please note this always reveals they haven’t won two-thirds of their games in a month since September 1992. Yeesh.

There have been 303 different 18-win months since the last Pirate one. All other teams have had at least two (Milwaukee and Kansas City have only two). The Yanks have the most (30), then the Braves (26). No one else is over 20.

But hey – who knew the Royals had one just last year? Or that the Mets had one this year?